Friday, May 5, 2017

Hodgepodge 188/365 - Saws

Last weekend, I got to do a little sawing of brass, using a jeweler's saw. Today, doing trailwork, my team used handsaws and a five-foot crosscut saw. This got me wondering how many different kinds of saws there are out there. Wikipedia to the rescue, and man, there are tons! Among handsaws alone (read the list out loud: it's like poetry):

And finally, frame saws, such as coping, hack, and surgical saws. The jeweler's saw I used last weekend was a frame saw: you insert the sawblade into two clamps on a frame, as shown to the left.

And that's just the hand saws. Never mind the circular blade saws (like radial arm and rotary) and reciprocating blade saws (like a jigsaw) or the continuous band saws or the chainsaws (my least favorite kind, by far—though they are quick, I'll give 'em that).

You can find out what all the saws listed above were used for here. And I will mention that this list taught me a new word: felly or felloe: the outer rim of a wooden wheel, to which the spokes are attached. Who knew? And who knew it required a special saw? (See above for one historical example.)

To end, I will point out that crosscut saws come in two varieties: felling and bucking (above and below, respectively, in the first photo). They also have various tooth patterns, including plain, M, great American, champion, lance, and perforated lance. The last three add "rakers" to the cutting teeth to clear away the cut wood fibers. Here are some pictures and definitions.

And finally, here is a video about using Japanese pull saws. Just because.

Sorry this is a jumble and a ramble (though I hope you liked the "poem"). I'm tired: it's been a long day of sawing! Mostly with one something like this: a pruning saw—